Society

Cook County, Illinois May Attach 'Violence Tax' on Guns and Ammunition

Cook County, Illinois Board President Preckwinkle is considering a 'violence tax' on guns and ammunition sold in Chicago and in the suburbs.

Kurt Summers, Preckwinkle’s chief of staff, told the Chicago Sun-Times: "If we were to pursue a tax on something like guns and ammo, clearly that wouldn’t be popular with the [gun lobby] out there, and it may not generate $50 million, but ... it is consistent with our commitment to pursuing violence reduction in the city and in the county."

The idea is to curb the number of guns in circulation as murders in Chicago are up 25 percent this year, according to recent police statistics. The Cook County jail has 9,000-plus inmates, nearing its 10,155 capacity.

Summers added: “It impacts law enforcement, both at the city and the county [levels]. It impacts the courtrooms, the public defender and state’s attorney that are in there, the judges that are in there, the clerk of the court that has to sit there, the sheriff’s deputies that are in that courtroom and it impacts the jail, the folks that are sitting there at $143 a day."

“Now on top of that, if a person is shot and wounded, they end up more than likely in a Level 1 trauma Center like Stroger Hospital."